


Divine Intervention

by Daughter of Vayu (aquaregia)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Not Beta Read, Oikawa is Petty, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reincarnation, Romance, Sort Of, Supernatural Elements, Tsukishima and Hinata's Friendship, Youkai, previously established relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-02 00:17:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15785064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquaregia/pseuds/Daughter%20of%20Vayu
Summary: The death of King Tobio made Shouyou decided to create a deal with the God of Spirits, Oikawa, at the price of Shouyou’s immortality. Promises made, as they were both reborn as Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyou. Along the way, volleyball connected them.





	1. The Wish of a Three-legged Crow

**Author's Note:**

> First fic for Haikyuu!! fandom and I'm excited~!
> 
> This story is not beta read, so please excuse any grammatical errors. I tried my best... Some of the dialogues were taken from the anime and manga!
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this, and feel free to leave comments and kudos~

_Taking a human form was normal for Shouyou now. Yet, he still kept himself invisible from their eyes as he made his way towards the garden where he knew his King would be waiting for him. Shouyou hummed softly as he walked down the corridor towards the inner garden of the palace until he saw the King was sitting down underneath the blossoming sakura tree with half opened book on his lap. He had fallen asleep apparently, and Shouyou had to admit the breeze was perfect for a nap at this time of the day._

_His feet didn’t make a noise as he plopped down beside the King, being careful not to wake him up. But it was too late, since the King slowly opened his eyes and his gaze fell on Shouyou’s smile._

_“You’re falling asleep while reading,” Shouyou stated the obvious, but his King would smile as he raised his hand and touché Shouyou’s cheek gently. “Did I wake you?”_

_“Not really. I caught your scent when you sat right next to me,” his King let out one of his rare smile that he would only show to Shouyou._

_“Not a bad scent, I hoped?” Hinata leaned closer to his King until his head could rest on his shoulder._

_“No. Never a bad scent, Shouyou.”_

_Shouyou smiled softly, as he enjoyed the fresh spring breeze wrapped in the warm embrace of his King. He wished time would stop and he could live in this moment for eternity._

* * *

 

When Hinata Shouyou was in elementary school, he met a very familiar figure. He looked like a young man with light blond hair was smooth and pale skin reminded him  of the pale light of the moon. His eyes were golden, hidden behind a pair of glasses.  Of course he would meet him eventually, the _katsura-otoko_ as humans would call him, a beautiful _youkai_   or spirit who lived on the moon while sucking on the life spans of humans who would laid their eyes on him. Hinata and the _katsura-otoko_ had been friends for as long as Hinata could remember (not that this man would ever admit it), and he knew the spirit wasn’t happy when Hinata made an arrangement with the God of Spirits centuries ago.

“I go with Tsukishima now. Tsukishima Kei,” he introduced himself to Shouyou. Even though the deity had taken human form, he still looked ageless.

“Hinata Shouyou,” Hinata said slowly. He wasn’t sure if Tsukishima—he should start to familiarize himself with that name now—was still angry with him after what happened.

“Written with the kanji for ‘sun’?” Tsukishima’s expression hadn’t changed. He was still angry then.

“Yes,” Hinata nodded. “It has been a while… Tsukishima-kun…”

“Centuries, Shouyou,” Tsukishima corrected him. “Oikawa-sama told me I could find you since you have been reborn as human this time.”

“’Oikawa-sama’?”

“That’s how he called himself now,” Tsukishima shrugged. “He had taken liking to disguise himself as human and interacted with them.”

“Of course he does,” Hinata smiled as he held onto his bike beside him. “I’m still grateful he fulfilled my wish centuries ago. Now I just need to find _him_ again… I can’t wait.”

“You’re foolish to make that deal with Oikawa-sama.”

“Maybe I am. But I never regretted it,” Hinata shook his head. “I’m really sorry, Tsukishima-kun.”

“You’ll regret that decision, Shouyou. Talk to Oikawa-sama, he could lift the _curse_ ,” Tsukishima said. “You could stay immortal without being bound to that _man_.” The way he said the last word sounded like curse, Tsukishima was never one to take kindly to human. That was just his personality. He never trusted mortals.

Hinata shook his head. “I chose this fate, so please…” he didn’t finish his sentence after seeing the painful look on Tsukishima’s face.

“You’ll regret it,” Tsukishima said.

“When the time comes, you can laugh at me.”

Tsukishima turned away without saying anything and walked away while Hinata watched his retreating back disappeared in the middle of the crowd in the shopping district. He sighed softly and looked down at his feet, wishing he could meet _him_ soon. He believed that fate will guide him. The deal he made with Oikawa-sama made sure of that, in this life he would meet his King again.

And that was when he heard the broadcast on the television in one of the shop’s window, showing a volleyball match and a man called Little Giant. When he saw him leapt on the court, his heart was beating faster and he knew what he should do.

Volleyball.

Karasuno.

 

* * *

 

 

“ _Chibi-chan_!”

Hinata would recognize that voice anywhere. He quickly turned to see a brown haired man with smug look on his face was waving at him from one of the tree branch near the shrine not too far from where Hinata Shouyou lived with his family. His human one, that was, his mother and little sister, as he had been reborn into that family.

“Oikawa-sama…” Hinata looked up to the God of Spirits who was perched comfortably on the tree. He was wearing a white and blue jersey that Hinata didn’t recognize, but they looked like some sport uniforms. He remembered Tsukishima mentioned that Oikawa-sama liked disguising himself as human and enjoying being involved with them. _Maybe he joined sport to interact with them_ , Hinata wondered.

“Just call me Oikawa-san, little crow. People would assume if they heard you call me ‘Oikawa-sama’,” the deity just smiled as he jumped down from his branch so he could stand before Hinata with ease and grace. “Are you out for a run?” his eyes took a closer look at Hinata who was wearing his Yukigaoka jersey.

“Yes!” hinata nodded quickly.

“Hmmm… you still play volleyball?” Oikawa-san asked.

“I am… The middle school I go to doesn’t have male volleyball club, so I made one,” Hinata explained. “It feels like the right thing to do.”

“Good, good,” Oikawa-san reached out and patted his head affectionately. “Keep at it, my little crow. In two year… In two years you will finally meet him if you keep doing your best.”

“Really, Oikawa-san?” Hinata looked up. Even now they were both standing on the ground, Oikawa-san was still taller than him.

“Really,” Oikawa-san nodded. “You will be reunited with your King once again,” he assured him.

Hinata nodded and looked down to his shoes. He wanted to cry in relieve, after years being reborn and questioned when would the day come, being told their fated meeting would happen in merely two years brought joy to Hinata’s heart. _Finally… finally…_

“You have been waiting all this time, _Chibi-chan_ ,” Oikawa-san said softly as he leaned down to kiss Hinata’s forehead gently. “Reunited with you beloved…”

Hinata closed his eyes and felt the warm energy filled him, and he couldn’t help but smile. He could remember _his_ voice spoke to him.

 

> _“Let me love you once again in my next life, Shouyou.”_

 

 _Soon, my King_. Hinata felt his human heart was beating faster. _Soon_.

 

* * *

 

 

Hinata felt his heart was ready to burst the first time he saw _him_.

 _He_ walked pass in front of Hinata, just like that without even spare him a glance. Of course he wouldn’t. In this life, his King wouldn’t recognize him and that was part of the arrangement he made centuries ago. But Hinata easily recognized him despite the lack of the familiar long silky black hair, or the beautiful purple fabric of the kimono that Hinata remembered he always wore. But those eyes though… Hinata would always recognize those dark orbs, staring with intensity… and later in his life, love. His heart ached, but he kept his ground. He didn’t have a chance to call him, for Hinata didn’t know what _his_ name was in this life. The jersey he wore read “Kitagawa Daiichi”, so he was Hinata’s first opponent in his first match…

_It had been two years… Just like Oikawa-san said… years of waiting, and finally here…_

“…King of the Court…” Hinata heard the whispers amongst other volleyball players from other teams in the hall. Of course. Of course he would be the King as well, in this life and in his previous life. King of the Court… the name fit him perfectly. Lack of imperial garbs didn’t make him lose his presence, and Hinata felt his stomach churned in anticipation. Hinata quickly told his teammates that he wanted to go to the bathroom and left the hall quickly to calm his heart down.

He stopped in front of the bathroom, looking down to his shoes. For once Hinata wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Should he try to talk to _him_? But how… it would be weird if he just came up to him and greeted him… It wasn’t easy…

“… Yukigaoka… they’re the height of elementary school kids. They’re no match for us.” Hinata frowned and turned after he heard his middle school’s name were being mentioned by three guys wearing Kitagawa Daiichi’s jerseys who were filling up water bottles.

“Hey, you guys,” Hinata called them out in annoyance. “Don’t underestimate us.” Ah… his stomach still churned from the nerves… “As soon as my stomach settles, I’ll teach you guys a lesson!” If only his stomach didn’t twisted like this, he would’ve sound more intimidating. The three guys just laughed him off.

“Is this guy serious?” one guy asked between his laughter. “Yes, Sir! We’ll be ready~” he said sardonically.

“Elementary school!” his friend giggled.

“He’s got the captain label on him!” the other added between their giggles and it only pissed Hinata off even more.

Hinata was serious when he decided he would play volleyball. This was the fated path for him to meet his King, and he knew it. There was no way Hinata would be half-assed about it. He would be like the Little Giant he saw on TV that day, if he could be as strong as him and got his King to recognize him in this life! The King of the Court would recognize a strong player after all, and Hinata would be the strongest and be the last one standing on the Court. He had decided. When he saw his King today, he didn’t even spare Hinata a glance because he wasn’t strong enough yet.

He had to get stronger… better… Make those eyes looking at his way again…

“Oi, Second-years!”

Hinata’s heart skipped a beat when he heard that voice. When he turned, he saw _him_ standing there, _his_ hands buried in the pockets of _his_ jacket, staring down at the guys who were making fun of him.

“It’s time for the official warm-up,” _he_ glared at them, eyes narrowing in intimidation. “Hurry it up.” There was the commanding tone in _his_ voice, one that quickly made the second-year guys scrambling to their feet.

“That’s bad… it’s Kageyama-senpai…” one of the guys murmured nervously, and Hinata caught the name.

 _Kageyama…?_ So that was the name of his King in this life. Somehow it suited _him_ … Hinata flinched when for a moment, _his_ eyes met Hinata’s before _he_ turned around and walked away. The three second-year students were still finishing up their task of filling up the drinks, fussing amongst themselves.

“… two more drinks…”

“Relax, we don’t need that much drinks anyway. I mean, just look at our opponent,” the guy scoffed and pointed at Hinata who was still standing there.

“That’s true,” the other guy giggled.

Hinata was ready to fight back and retaliate, but Kageyama (he had to familiarize himself with this name now) beaten him to it.

“You guys,” he called out without bothering to turn around, making the second-years flinched. “You’re not even on the bench. You think you’re good enough to look down on your opponent?” he turned his head and glaring dagger at the three of them. “Don’t ride the coattails of your school’s reputation.”

“W-We’re sorry!” they quickly ran away with all the drink bottles, leaving Kageyama and Hinata in the hallway.

_Ah… I have to say something…_

“I-I was going to tell them a thing or two myself, too,” Hinata quickly put on a front. He couldn’t look _that_ pathetic now. Kageyama clicked his tongue and turned to Hinata. He flinched under the merciless glare.

This wasn’t the man he had known for years centuries ago… This man only knew him as just another volleyball player, a stranger. Hinata’s heart clenched painfully underneath the severe look Kageyama gave him. It hurt when he didn’t remember Hinata…

“You’re not even physically ready. Don’t talk big,” Kageyama said coldly. “That’s why they look down on you.”

“What did you say…?” Hinata frowned. Ah, it seemed like he forgot this personality of his King. He spent years of getting close to the man, he forgot this annoying part of his character. This was the King before Hinata came along to guide him.

“It’s only natural to be completely prepared for a match,” Kageyama continued. “Just what did you come here to do? ‘Make memories’ or something?”

Hinata seriously wanted to punch him. He might be a normal human boy now, but he still had his divine power in him, he could send his King off to the next town with one flick on the forehead easily.

“I came here to win of course,” _I’ll make you recognize me._

“You’re saying that as if it is extremely easy to do,” Kageyama glared at him. “You’re saying that despite knowing that height is something essential to volleyball?”

Hinata looked down. He was reborn in this body after all, the human form he used to take around his King when he wasn’t in his animal form. Short, bright orange hair, his King always said it looked perfect so Hinata never regretted his stature. He might have his divine power, but he had to use them sparingly, for he know, one day the amber would diminish. But Kageyama didn’t know that, after all, Hinata was athletic enough to not depending on those powers.

“It’s true that I’m not very tall… However!” he lifted his head and let his gaze met Kageyama. “I can jump!” He would challenge his King like years ago. “It isn’t as if the outcome of our match has already been decided. I don’t have to give up…”

“Not giving up is easier said than done,” Kageyama cut him off. “It’s not just about compensation for differences in physique, skill, and willpower. You’ll understand in the match.”

Ah… this guy annoyed him so much! Hinata watched the familiar back clad in blue and white jersey with “Kitagawa Daiichi” written on it retreated. But then again, his King was just like this when the first time they met, until Hinata had proven himself.

“We’ll win…” Hinata said, straing straight at him. “We’ll win and our team will play lots of matches,” _I’ll make you accept me again_.

Kageyama stopped his stride before he turned around and walked towards Hinata. He looked determined as he opened his mouth. “In the first match… the second… the last, and in all matches nationwide. The one standing on the winning side of the court will be me!”

Hinata ignored the shiver ran down his spine.

_You really are still the same, my King._

 

* * *

 

 

 _Shouyou was a three-legged crow, a deity from Heaven who came to guide the ruler of the Land. In his spirit form, Shouyou was a giant crow with three legs, but often time, he would be found in his human form, as a young boy of fifteen years old with unruly orange hair and small stature, dressed in black_ sokutai _—the court dress—roaming around the castle as no one could see him unless he let them saw him._

_The exception would be the King of course, the one who was guided by Shouyou. The King was young when he inherited the throne, smart but inexperience. He was arrogant and selfish, perfectionist to the fault, making his own Court of Noblemen annoyed at one point, they were starting to abandon the young King, seeing him unfit to rule._

_The young King was prideful of himself, and held himself to a certain standard. The country was at their era of peace, where arts and literatures were part of the daily lives of nobles. Many of them were enjoying the lavish lifestyle while the young King pushed them to do better for the people. It was not enough, it was never enough. Everyone was blinded by the sense of peace and prosperity of the upper class world, they got lazy and forgot about the common people. No matter how hard the Young King tried to fix it, he was ignored, and in the end abandoned by his own advisors for his stubbornness._

_Shouyou had known about the problem on the Land. When Heaven sent him, he was the guide for the King, to bring him into the proper King he knew he would be one day. The Young King needed to know that sheer force and threat would not get him what he wanted. Ruling was more than giving orders to your people after all, and the three-legged crow was ready to bring his King towards the Golden Era of his Rules._

 

* * *

 

 

“What the hell have you been doing these past three years?!”

Hinata wanted to cry.

If he couldn’t win, the King would never accept him.

And he didn’t win.

So he tried again.

 

* * *

 

 

“Do you finally meet him, Chibi-chan?” Oikawa-san asked as they sat together underneath the sakura tree in front of the shrine. He was still dressed in sport jersey, but this time it was white with the words “Aoba Jousai” written in turquoise on the back. Hinata knew the human form Oikawa-san took was supposed to be two years older than him, so Oikawa-san was already in his second year of high school.

“I did,” Hinata nodded and hugged his legs close to his chest. “He is still a jerk.” Despite the words, his tone still held the fondness in them.

“He always is,” Oikawa-san laughed. “He really got on my nerves in middle school. Cute, but very annoying.”

“He’s not that bad,” Hinata mumbled. His King was awkward, but he had the kindest soul.

“Hmm… It is still fun to tease him. I’m petty, and I won’t forgive him for taking away my most favorite follower,” he winked at Hinata and ruffled his bright hair gently. “Tsukishima might have told you this, but you still have time to end our agreement and return to the Spirit World. The Divine Power still burns inside you for now, but once it diminished, you cannot go back. You will live your life as a mortal, my little crow.”

“I’m fine with that. Being reborn like this and walking down the same path as my King is worth my immortality, and I’m happy, Oikawa-san,” Hinata smiled brightly.

“Where do you plan to go now? Let me tell you, your dear King isn’t going to my school like most of his teammates,” Oikawa-san said. “You said it yourself that you wanted him to accept you, but you’re already lose the battle here.”

“I’m going to Karasuno and challenge him again,” Hinata smiled. “Like that Little Giant of Karasuno who took the center stage, I’ll overwhelmed him with my awesomeness and made him look at me properly again.”

“Oh? The _yatagarasu_ of Karasuno, huh? It fits you, little crow,” Oikawa nodded. “Well, since I’ve had fun too playing in human world like this, I won’t take it easy on you! I’ll make you change your mind about the bratty King and take you back as my entourage!”

“I won’t change my mind, Oikawa-sama,” Hinata grinned at the deity. His heart was set now. He would go to Karasuno and became the strongest player like the Little Giant. He would make Kageyama Tobio accepted him even in this life.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note~
> 
> In this story, Hinata was the reincarnation of a yatagarasu (lit.: eight-span crow) or a three-legged crow in other cultures. In the legend it was said that the great crow was sent from heaven as a guide for Emperor Jimmu on his initial journey from the region of which would become Kumano to what would become Yamato. I took liberty of this depiction and made Shouyou as the sort of spiritual-guide-ish to King Tobio as the form of divine intervention sort-of to humans affair.  
> Also, note that I used the term “King” in this fic instead of “Emperor”. I imagined the setting of the past was somewhere in Heian Period (the hair! The Clothes!), and as Tobio was the ruler, he was supposed to be the Emperor. But I took some liberty here since Tobio’s moniker was the King of the Court, I’ll let Hinata and other deities referred to him as “King” while in fact he was actually the “Emperor”. Imagine Tobio with long lush black hair!
> 
> Tsukishima Kei, as mentioned a bit in this chapter, was supposed to be the disguise for katsura-otoko. As mentioned in the chapter, katsura-otoko (lit. “katsura man”) was an incomparably beautiful man who lived in the moon and gazed back down at those who gazed up at him. If you gazed long enough, it is said that the katsura-otoko would extend his hand and beckon, calling you towards him. With each shake of his hand as he beckoned, your lifespan shrinks, and if you stared long enough you may drop dead on the spot. I found this youkai is interesting and imagining Tsukki as life-sucking vampiric mimbo somehow made me happy inside… I wanted to have Tsukki as the being related to the moon as his name suggested, and the moon rabbit (tsuki no usagi) came into mind at first, but then I found katsura-otoko during my research and changed my mind. In contrast to Tsukki’s name, Hinata Shouyou had the kanji for “sun” in his name, and yatagarasu or in this case the three-legged crow is also depicted as sun-crow (yangwu or jinwu, lit. means “golden crow”) in Chinese mythology, and associated with sun.
> 
> Oikawa in this verse was the God of Spirits, and he was a minor God but powerful enough to govern the Spirits. Of course, as a God he had followers, and one of the closest and most trusted of them was Shouyou. More on it when the story progress I guess...
> 
> I know I took a lot of creative liberties with the myths, I’ll try my best of doing some research into them beforehand. If you had any suggestion, or if my depiction was horribly wrong, feel free to tell me! I’ll do my best to fix them~
> 
> Tell me what do you think? Should I continue or nah?


	2. A Thousand Sakura Petals Fluttering in the Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama Tobio often had this dream...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter finished faster than I thought it would be... Updates will be irregular, some might came out fast like this, some might took longer ^^
> 
> Some dialogue were taken from the anime and manga~

Ever since he was young, Kageyama Tobio often dreamt of a huge sakura tree. It was so huge, he couldn’t see the top of it. There were so many branches, crisscrossing at each other, he would lost track of them when he tried to trace them with his eyes as the cold spring breeze wrapped him in a comfortable embrace. Kageyama never understood the dreams when he was younger. He would just sat alone underneath the tree with his back leaning against the bark, and the soft pink petals would be dancing around him to a melody he couldn’t hear.

And then young Kageyama would wake up.

When he got older, the dreams started to change a bit.

The sakura tree was still huge, the spring breeze was still refreshing. But now, on the nearest branch that hung low, closer to the ground than any others, was a crow. Its black feathers contrasted beautifully to light soft pink surrounded them, and Kageyama _knew_ the crow was _looking_ at him with its eyes. Observing, studying.

Kageyama had look into it when he was younger. He got curious, and he knew his mother was into this sort of dream interpretation thing after attending a seminar by some guy whose nae he couldn’t bother to remember (it was years ago after all). Anyway, he saw the book his mother had been reading, and he got curious about how to interpret his dream. Kageyama took the book and trying to find what did it mean to dream about a crow.

The book said it could either be a sign of trouble and bad luck, or wisdom. The crow on the tree was supposed to be a sign of trouble in the future according to the book. Kageyama frowned and found the book to be useless since it barely explained anything to him and put it back to where it belonged before he returned to his room to read the latest Monthly Volleyball.

By the time he was in middle school, the dream still came from time to time. The crow and the huge sakura tree. But this time, Kageyama took notice of the crow. It had three legs. Not just two, but three, gripping on a branch it was perched on.

He stopped trying to interpret his dream when he was in middle school, maybe it just wasn’t working that way. But he still sat down under the three, exchanging look with the crow with a familiar sense of longing filling his chest for some reason.

It was after _that_ match against the weird boy with captivating eyes when the three-legged crow disappeared. In his place, was the child of sun, dressed in black beautiful _kariginu_ with bright smile on his face leaning down with his hand reaching out to Kageyama.

 

> “ _My King!_ ”

 

And Kageyama woke up.

 

* * *

 

 

The last thing Kageyama Tobio would expect to see in the gym of Karasuno High School was the short orange haired boy he faced months ago at the preliminaries. The boy with ridiculous reflex and agility alongside the unbelievable jumping power, but annoying as hell. His skill was unrefined; all he got going was his crazy reflex and positivity. Kageyama wasn’t happy when he knew he would be on the same team as the short boy after the declaration they made _that_ day. It pissed him off, and yet… he felt slightly happy with this fact.

“What are you doing here? How can I defeat you if we’re in the same team?!” the short boy, Hinata Shouyou, asked, pointing his finger at Kageyama. “Shouldn’t you be at some other school with strong players? Why didn’t you go there?”

Kageyama frowned. He didn’t want to admit it but there was no use to lie. “The strongest school in the prefecture rejected me,” he said bitterly.

“Rejected you?” Hinata tilted his head. “But you’re the King of the Court…”

It pissed Kageyama off to hear that moniker. The name was mocking him instead of making him proud. But the way Hinata said it sent a shiver down Kageyama’s spine. Why did it feel different when Hinata said that name?

“Don’t call me that!” Kageyama snarled, making the shorter boy flinched.

Before the conversation continued, they heard some people were talking as they approached the gym. Kageyama and Hinata turned to the door to see three upperclassmen in black Karasuno Volleyball team jersey were entering the gym. Politely, both Kageyama and Hinata greeted them. They quickly recognized Kageyama, but what surprising they were also recognized Hinata from the match with Kitagawa Daiichi last year.

But still, he blamed Hinata when they got kicked out of the gym by the Captain, Sawamura Daichi, after Kageyama’s serve blew off the Principal’s wig. The short boy was so bad at receiving and now both of them were denied to participate in club activity by the Captain until they learned how to work together. So of course in the end, they challenged the senpai to a two-on-two match. As a penalty, if Kageyama and Hinata’s team lose the match, as long as the third-years still staying in the club, Kageyama would never play as setter. It pissed him off. He was a setter, and there was no way he would want to play any other position.

 And now they had to practice for a three-on-three match with two other freshmen on Saturday morning. But first things first he had to refine Hinata’s skill. The boy couldn’t receive the ball to save his life, and Kageyama didn’t want to risk his position if they lose the three-on-three game with the other freshmen. They were lucky Tanaka-senpai and Sugawara-senpai, the Vice-Captain, were kind enough to let them used the gym before the morning practice started. Hinata didn’t look happy with his receiving practice, he wanted to spike the ball and asked Kageyama to toss to him.

“I’ll toss to anyone who’s essential to winning. Right now, I don’t think you’re essential to winning,” Kageyama said as a matter of fact, since Hinata’s lousy receive was a minus in their team combined strength at this point. Hinata and Tanaka looked pissed with his attitude, but Kageyama just stated the truth. He would toss to Tanaka for attack and as long as Hinata was not getting in his way, they would be fine.

He caught Hinata was practicing with Sugawara during lunch break as well. The shorter boy was determined to beat Kageyama, there was nothing new to that since Hinata told him so after their match last year.

“So, is beating Kageyama is all you want to do in volleyball?” Sugawara-san asked Hinata.

“I just want to be strong enough to defeat Kageyama… If I can do that, I’ll be on the even ground to face strong opponents and Kageyama… will have no other choice but to accept me.”

Kageyama blinked when he heard the response. Hinata was giving him that much credits? Kageyama felt slightly happy inside as he turned around with his milk and walked away to let Hinata continued his practice.

In the afternoon when the gym was being used by the upperclassmen, Kageyama had found a place he could practice with Hinata outside. The shorter boy’s receive was still so lousy, it was frustrating. Kageyama kept fixing his posture and yelled at him to do it properly. At one time the ball was ended up on a tree branch because of Hinata’s receive and it annoyed him so much.

“I wonder what our first-year opponents are like,” Hinata said after they got the ball back in Kageyama’s hand.

“Who cares what they’re like? There’s no choice for me but to win,” Kageyama frowned. He had no time but to focus on refining Hinata as much as he could. They were keeping at it until the afternoon practice was over. They were lucky despite being outside, the light from the football field could lightened their practice area. Kageyama didn’t want to admit it out loud, but practice with Hinata was fun in a way, despite his annoyance from time to time. Or maybe it was just because Kageyama himself enjoyed volleyball and he tolerated practicing with Hinata as long as it was volleyball.

“One more!” Hinata shouted after he missed the ball for the… Kageyama didn’t bother to count pass twentieth time, but the determination in Hinata’s eyes was still burning bright despite looking like he was ready to drop at his feet.

“Here we go!” Kageyama hit the ball as Hinata chased it, ready to receive before someone caught the ball mid-air.

Hinata stopped and turned around, Kageyama caught the sight of two figures standing behind Hinata. One of them, the tall blond with pale skin and glasses were holding the ball above Hinata’s head while behind him was another boy, shorter than the blond with freckled face.

“You…!” Hinata frowned at the glasses boy.

“Ah, so you’re the ones who caused ruckus during practice yesterday,” the blond smirked as he looked down to Hinata. There was something about him that made Kageyama wanted to punch his face.

“Tsukishima…” Hinata glared at him.

“Hmmm…” the blond—Tsukishima—studied Hinata for a bit before his gaze fell on Kageyama. Kageyama shuddered when those golden eyes were directed at him, making him felt unease.

“Tsukki, you know him?” the freckled guy asked his taller friend.

“Sort of,” Tsukishima just shrugged, but he still kept his eyes on Kageyama. The freckled guy’s question had broken whatever intensity Kageyama had felt when Tsukishima was looking at him.

“You’re the other first-years who joined the club, right?” Kageyama asked. The blond was tall, even taller than Kageyama himself. Judging from that, he might be a middle blocker or something, since that position was usually filled by taller players. “How tall are you?”

“Tsukki is 188 cm and soon he will be 190 cm!” the freckled guy answered proudly.

“Why are you answering, Yamaguchi?” Tsukishima looked a bit annoyed by his friend’s antics.

“Sorry, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi just smiled apologetically.

Tsukishima turned back to Kageyama. “Kageyama from Kitagawa Daiichi, huh… To think an elite like you would come to Karasuno…” there was something irritating with the way this guy was talking to him. “The match on Saturday, it’s a very important match to you, right? It doesn’t matter for me to win or lose. If you really need to win that badly, do you want me take it easy on you?” he asked, using his height to give Kageyama a condescending smirk.

This guy was seriously so irritating.

“Whether you go easy or you give it your all, the bottom line is I will win,” Kageyama said. As if he would let himself lose to this jerk.

Tsukishima laughed loftily. “Such confidence. As expected from the ‘king’,” he smirked.

“Don’t call me that—!”

“So that’s true. You really lose it when being called King of the Court, huh?” Tsukishima was still smiling as he watched Kageyama lose it. “But it’s cool, right, being called ‘King’. It suits you,” his tone was dripping with sarcasm. “I saw your match last year… Egocentric tossing like that, I can’t believe your teammates tolerated it, I couldn’t. Ah! I guess what happened was they couldn’t tolerate it anymore, right? When no one was there to hit that toss—“

Kageyama turned around, ready to punch this creepy guy, but Hinata beat him to it. He moved so fast, the next thing he knew Hinata had placed himself between Kageyama and Tsukishima. Kageyama couldn’t see his face, but in that moment, he felt like something had snap and the air around Hinata changed. Cold, intimidating… Kageyama didn’t realize he had taken a step back when he felt the shiver ran down his spine from the pressure. His heart was beating faster, but not from excitement.

It was fear.

“Say that again, I’ll rip you to pieces.”

Kageyama knew he just saw something dangerous, even Tsukishima flinched at Hinata’s words. But just like a switch being turned, the pressure dissipated and Hinata was looking up to Tsukishima with the same determination in his eyes. “In the match next Saturday, we will beat you,” he said.

Tsukishima looked down to him for a moment before he shrugged. “Yamaguchi, let’s go home.”

And with that, the two other first-years turned around and left Kageyama and Hinata behind without saying a word. Hinata looked annoyed as he turned around to Kageyama. “We’ll pummel that creep down this Saturday!”

“You don’t need to tell me that,” Kageyama snorted as he picked up his bag and ready to walk back home himself. From the corner of his eyes, he watched Hinata went to get his bag from under the tree. There was something about the shorter boy that bothered Kageyama, especially after what just happened with Tsukishima. Kageyama didn’t think of himself as someone who got scared easily, but when he saw Hinata standing up to Tsukishima who was significantly taller than him, Kageyama felt it. His brain was sending off signals, his instinct told him to run.

He felt fear.

And for a second, he believed Hinata would follow through his words and ripped Tsukishima apart.

Hinata stretched and yawned beside him, looking as normal as ever. Kageyama had to laugh to himself. There was no way, right? He just imagined things.

Right?

 

* * *

 

 

“Tsukki, is something wrong?” Yamaguchi Tadashi asked as he followed his friend, Tsukishima Kei, after meeting up with the other two freshmen. Yamaguchi had to admit, Tsukishima was acting weird when he saw those two, but he couldn’t figure out why.

“That ‘King’ got on my nerves… and that shrimp too,” Tsukishima said. Never before Yamaguchi saw him this angry with someone. But he figured there was more to it from watching what happened earlier. Yamaguchi watched the retreating back of his friend before he ran after him.

 

* * *

 

_The scent of sakura bloomed around him, enveloping him in a sense of nostalgia. But it mixed with something else… something familiar that gave him the sense of longing in his chest. Kageyama couldn’t put his mind on it, he tried to analyze the scent… He never felt anything like it before and yet…_

_When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the same sakura tree, huge and old, strong and steady as its roots reaching deep into the Earth to keep it standing proudly. Kageyama looked up to the nearest tree branch, hanging lower than the others, and he saw the crow again. Its feathers were black and slick, looking majestic. The crow was huge, though his mind couldn’t comprehend how huge it was exactly. Its eyes were intelligent as they studied Kageyama knowingly. And the legs… Kageyama could see the three legs were grabbing onto the branch it perched on._

_“Who are you…” Kageyama whispered to the fluttering petals surrounding them under the tree. He didn’t know why he asked the crow, but he just did it without thinking. “Do I know you…?” he wondered if the crow heard him._

_The image fluttered as the crow was replaced by a boy in black_ kariginu _. He was sitting comfortably with his bare feet hanging freely._

_Child of sun._

_That was the description that entered Kageyama’s brain as he looked at the boy. Nothing about him he could recognize, not his face nor his hair, anything that would let him identified the boy. He was as bright as a sun, you couldn’t stare at him directly. But Kageyama knew the boy opened his mouth. He was saying something. But the fluttering sakura petals in the wind swallowed his voice._

_“What are you saying…” Kageyama frowned, there was fear in his heart that he would never know._

_The boy kept talking but the wind kept swallowing the voice._

_“Who are you…?” Kageyama asked again._

_Kageyama was ready to stand up so he could get closer to the boy to hear what he had to say but…_

_The boy plopped down beside him and he caught the mysterious scent again. Kageyama blinked as he reached out to touch…_

_He opened his mouth to ask his question, but a voice cut him off before he could say anything._

_“… Let’s meet again…”_

_And Kageyama woke up._

 

* * *

 

 

Kageyama rubbed his face as he pushed himself up from his bed. He sat down for a few minutes to gather his thought. His heart was beating fast and his stomach churned at the vivid dream of fluttering sakura petals and a boy in black _kariginu_. Kageyama never interacted with the boy before, nor did he ever interact with the three-legged crow in his dream. Kageyama never asked question, and neither the crow nor the boy ever tried to talk to him.

He could still taste the lingering scent of the boy on his tongue, seeping through his skin underneath the scent of sakura surrounded them. Kageyama ran his fingers through his hair. _What does that mean…?_ The words the boy was saying before Kageyama jerked awake. Did he know the boy somehow? He couldn’t remember his face, he couldn’t remember his voice. Kageyama only felt the feeling of longing in chest, but for what reason?

He spent the next hour pondering over this before he got up and got ready to school. Today was the last day of practice before the three-on-three match, and he had to get to the gym early before the morning practice started. He grabbed a bread for breakfast, his parents weren’t home as usual, before he walked to the school.

Kageyama arrived at the same time as Hinata did, and the two of them were quickly going at it. Hinata’s receive had gotten better and better each day, but it was still not enough. They changed into T-shirts before Hinata took position and Kageyama hit the ball for him to receive.

He didn’t know how long thay had been going at it, but Hinata was receiving the ball perfectly. Not even once he missed it or let the ball flew off somewhere. He kept picking up the ball with everything he got. Kageyama already knew about his agility and stamina, but despite looking tired, Hinata still hadn’t given up and keeping up with Kageyama. _He should be at his limit…_

“Oi, you won’t be able to take this any longer!” Kageyama hit the ball again, but Hinata still received it.

“The ball hasn’t fallen yet!!” Hinata shouted, he was already drenching in sweat but he didn’t look like he would give up any time soon.

_This guy…!_ Kageyama frowned and hit the ball harder, making it flew far away. There was no way Hinata could reach it… he heard someone commented from the side of the court about his bad personality. Well, it wasn’t like he meant to hit an impossible ball like that—

Kageyama’s eyes widened as he watched Hinata scrambled to his feet and chase after the ball desperately.

The ability to cling to “victory”, Kageyama realized it. It was a power that could overcome the need for an advantageous physique. It was a different kind of weapon. Kageyama knew it well, when you felt everything was too painful and you just wanted to stop, and you took a step forward… Hinata dived, reaching out to the ball with one hand receive and sent it back to Kageyama.

The ball flew high on the air as Hinata slid on the floor and Kageyama looked up to the ball over his head. He always said he only tossed to those who were essential to winning, so Kageyama raised his arms towards the ball.

And he tossed it.

“Wait… Hinata wouldn’t have strength to spike it…!” he heard Tanaka-senpai from the side of the court, but Kageyama only got his eyes on Hinata who was smiling as he ran towards the ball and leapt to the sky with a bright smile on his face.

His palm made contact with the ball and sent it to the other side of the court.

_Why does he look so happy?_ Kageyama sighed as he walked up to Hinata who was still panting tiredly.

“Hey,” Kageyama called out to Hinata. “On Saturday… Let’s win it.”

Hinata grinned and Kageyama felt his heart skipped a beat for a second.

“Of course!”

 

* * *

 

 

_He remembered he read it somewhere before, the words said by Brazilian Men’s Volleyball Team’s coach. He said that a player was not a soloist, but a member of an orchestra. Once he began to think that he was “someone special”, everything was over for him._

_Kageyama Tobio always thought it would be best if he did everything by himself; receives, tosses, spikes. He could receive, he could serve, he could toss the ball and hit it. He always told everyone to move faster, to jump higher… always faster and higher. But at one point he tossed the ball behind him and he realized…_

_There was no one there._

_“And why do you think is that?”_

_Kageyama realized the dark volleyball court had melted into giant sakura tree and the crow perched on its lowest branch._

_He realized the crow was_ talking _to him._

_Why indeed. Why no one was there for him… why they stopped…_

Egocentric “King”.

_He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could the sakura petals fluttering around him in a gush of wind, obstructing his view of the boy in black_ kariginu _._

 

* * *

 

 

Kageyama woke up from his dream. Today was the day of the three-on-three match, he remembered.

He wondered why he kept dreaming of that sakura tree, the three-legged crow, and the boy that reminded him of sunshine… and why his vivid dream started to interact with him.

He pushed himself up from the bed and sighed softly.

He had to win today.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed their interaction a bit from the canon one. With some characters had different background, of course they would interact differently from the canon. For example, the confrontation between Kageyama-Hinata-Tsukishima. It would play out differently with Tsukki’s relationship with Hinata and Hinata’s past relationship with Kageyama. But since this chapter was being told from Kageyama’s perspective, he still didn’t understand the history between them.
> 
> Also, kariginu was a type of kimono worn during Heian Period or formal ceremonies.
> 
> I hope it’s okay? Haha.


End file.
